This article is brought to you by the letter V and the word:
My last articles have covered Extended, Pauper and even magic (albeit sometimes shady) strategy in general - so I thought it time to venture into the vast world of vampi...bite that, I mean SEALED DECK STRATEGIES!
First a side note...on Feb 27th I entered two Premiere Events - the event at 1pm had a glitch, and thank Lestat it did! I don't think Jon Finkel with 4 byes could have won a 4 round tourney with that pile - it was dead on arrival, so I was very happy to get a refund and wait until the 4pm tournament started.
It had to get better as any gambling fallacy believer would suggest...and boy did it!
When you get a card pool like the one below...it pretty much builds itself, but before you go saying "How lucky!" remember, I've paid my dues and have had plenty of vagient (crying like a baby) moments with regards to sealed deck frustrations. That being said, here's the super sealed listing:
If there's one thing vampires are known for, other than their blood thirst,it's their long lives... thus they learn and experience A LOT of things ranging from history to vocabulary...so I'm going to write this article with a bunch of "V" words most readers won't know...don't worry, I didn't know them either...so directly next to them I'm putting the meaning to not frustrate the common, magic playing viator (traveler, wayfarer). I strive to be a vatic (prophetic, inspired) writer, trying to write a bit more creatively than your run-of-the-mill articles do. Hopefully my readers are a bit more volable (nimble-witted) than most!
There were 101 vitriolic (caustic or hostile) opponents waiting to smash me in the face for seven rounds, so let's see how it went!
Round one vs. ShadowKrux playing Black/Red...literally the exact same deck as me, minus one rare!
My opponents first game he starts fast with a Vampire Lacerator but I had a crazy opening hand:
He hits, I draw the swamp and the carnage starts via Gatekeeper of Malakir. This match was so lopsided..he had a great deck, it's just that mine had quite a bit more vagility, (ability to succeed in the struggle for existence) - now THAT'S a great vampire word well suited for a vampire vs. vampire match up! It went quickly downhill from there and I won on turn 6 after dropping a Vampire Nighthawk to join his friends Anowon, the Ruin Sage and Gatekeeper of Malakir.
Game two was pretty much the same...I was almost feeling ventose! (puffed up with conceit)Record 1-0
Round two vs. AQRAT - playing Black/Red...not exactly my deck, but quite close! Games two and three I rolled him quite like round one, so lets get to my only loss so far, which was the first match.
He opens with a swamp and a Pulse Tracker. I kept the following hand of:
I drop a swamp and pass...only to see him drop a (Tettering Peaks) and on his second turn I'm already at 16!
I drew everything I needed and was about to pull out when this scenario happened:
Two Searing Blazes later I was in a tight spot! With Punishing Fire in his graveyard I couldn't really attack with my Nighthawk as the (Butcher of Maliker) was waiting - but I rolled him games 2 and 3 :)
Record 2-0
Round 3 vs. minhwan2009 playing White/Blue control.
Game one he opens with a Halimar Excavator. I have a lot of respect for mill-strategies, especially when enough allies come to help..so with the below hand:
.
I quickly cast Smother to put an end to those vorpal (keen, deadly) shenanigans. My removal kept many things at bay, but in the end this happened:
He'd be at one life if I aimed Burst Lightning at him, but the Merfolk Seastalkers have the game if you look closely...so I chose the latter and it ended up being a tough, but right decision. So I won the first game.
Game two was won entirely by a turn two Spreading Seas. This card destroyed me, and kept me a few turns behind, while he attacked me in the air, it was frustrating and ugly! I almost recover at one life, he's at 8 - when his venery (hunting, pursuit of game) Kor Skyfisher bounces the Sejiri Steppe and thus my Vampire Nighthawk couldn't help me out.
Game three I mulligan to 4 and my opponent had a turn 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I drew nothing but mountains despite my swamp-heavy deck, and it was slow enough to lose a very long game as he kept me from my second swamp via Jace and attacked in the air. I made a late game mistake that was far from venial (pardonable; excusable) by attacking into a 3/3 first striking flier...but it didn't feel so bad, as Jace made the game pretty hopeless with all his crazy goodness. I'd cast a bomb that would normally save the day, and he'd just bounce it ...bad times. Replaying these games as I wrote this felt more like venereology (study of venereal disease) than the fun game of magic, good grief!
Record 2-1
Round 4 vs. Apokryph playing Black/Green bombs galore.
Game one was pretty standard for my victorious vampires, a boring quick victory. However game two I lost due to stupidity. Man, I seem to write this sentence in EVERY article, perhaps I forgot my multivitamin today - but here was the end of the match. I thought attacking with my ventripotent (with great capacity or appetite for food) vampires via the Eldrazi Monument was a sure thing due to the Vampire Lacerators upkeep...any clown can see what's wrong with my logic:
I thought I had "seen" a victory, and my optimism got the best of me..oh well, off to match 3.
Match 3 was rockin' my hand was:
I open fast, obviously with that hand right?! But towards the end my opponent 'thinks' he stabilizes and attacks quite confidently. Boy, this guy is ventorious (characterized by venturesomeness)! This is an error in my opinion - due to him having just seen me play and win with the Monument in game one and almost again in game two. Here's the game state:
Well, you can see what happened there! Good times, the next round of blood is on me my fellow blooddrinkers!
Record 3-1
Round 5 vs. karmasavant playing White/Blue/Green - quite a versicoloured (diversely colored) assortment of nastiness.
I keep the following hand:
Karmasavant quickly starts pounding out allies like there's no tomorrow. I was worried, because my only loss so far has been to Plains/Islands. But lucky for me there was no Jace this time round. My Vampire Nighthawk kept me in it as my removal was able to pick off multiple threats. In the end, good old Eldrazi Monument showed up and provided me a 'sure thing' win...I made sure to triple check my logic this time!
Game two was more of a wipeout, and he concedes very fast:
Let's hope my vivisepulture (practice of burying people alive) victories continue!
Record 4-1
And yes, I hope to vulnerate (to wound) my next opponent badly...
Round 6 vs. justaguy451 playing White/Blue
As stated before, my deck is afraid of Blue/White - as its life gain tends to be a bit too much with regards to an air race. Game one went as I feared:
His creatures were of the volitorial (able to fly) persuasion, and mine were too late to the party - which is to be expected as were night owls RIGHT?! - Or in this case, nighthawks!
Game two was pretty quick, when this deck works it seems as if it's unbeatable:
Then came game 3.
I mulligan. I mulligan again, and again...stopping at 4 with a sense of dread:
A quick aside with regards to Pilgrims: I was quite thankful for the Pilgrim's Eye as I felt a certain, out-of-season-kinship with the English settlers of New England who celebrated the "First Thanksgiving." Quite a leap yes, but I felt VERY thankful that I'd be able to fetch a red source of mana!
Unfortunately game three didn't bode well for me...and I have big-time respect for Vapor Snare which is especially cruel when you understand how synergistic that card and its target - my Geyser Glider are:
So by my vidimus (attested copy; inspection of accounts) my record is now:
4-2
Round 7 vs. msalmonsen playing Red/White.
This is the kind of opening hand, that if left unchecked, could easily win in Standard:
Game one is totally unfair and I genuinely feel sorry for him - no one deserves a vomiturition (violent retching) defeat like the one that bore down upon msalmonsen late on that fateful Saturday evening:
That's just cruel...kinda like this guy:
Look at him - so absorbed with blood lust, a voltinism (breeding rhythm) as he's living in the moment - I felt a kinship to this guy in game one!
Game two wasn't much better for my opponent.
I held back on the nuts draw hoping to bait his removal...and his Journey to Nowhere showed up. Quickly we went back to the vampire bar and created a new drink: the "Bloody Salmon" -in honor of our fallen opponent, msalmonsen. By the way, you tasted great!
Of course now I vaticinate (predict) that I won't make the top 8 and my votive (consisting of a vow or wish) is to fight on! But it isn't to be, as round 7 was the capping point for top 8, so my stats stay:
ENDING RECORD: 5-2
I end with 14th place out of 101 players...oh well. Remember to respect the ally-milling strategies like Halimar Excavator, despite the vast majority of magic games being vigesimal (based on the number twenty).
To end this verbomania (craze for words) - let us end with a villanelle (poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain) about vampires:
Remembering lifetimes now dark and grey.
Our hope has become hollow - bleak and shrill.
Forgotten families... long washed away...
A Caribbean merchant long thought dead.
Now dances in the palest of moonlight.
Resting by day in a coffin turned bed.
Good men we once were - hunting now by night.
Our human deeds have long been forgotten.
Rage, rage against those who walk amongst light.
In blood we unite, my brothers, my kin.
For centuries forgotten in shadow.
There is no life under this ashen skin.
What of our history shall turn to fact?
We still thirst - prisoners of flesh and blood.
Most of us long to reverse this dark pact.
There is no ruin. There is no decay.
There is only tomorrow - the next drink.
For generations ...the elders they say:
'"..till sunlight finds you a pile of clay."
~Hope you enjoyed reading~
Your magic-musing vadelect (servant, serving-man);
Adrian Grey Marsden aka "deluxeicoff"
(Extra points if you noticed I used a Veranda font!)
PS - I write 90% of this in real time between rounds...this is a great way to stay focused and busy between rounds..and can also serve as a great tool when sideboarding.)
17 Comments
For Round
Excuse that first post. But anyway, for Round 1, versus Shadowkrux, the word "vagility" is used. I trust your definition, so I haven't looked it up. Just thought I'd say that it's a funny word.
Most are so rare they're not too dictionary friendly...but they are words. Simply googled "Big words starting with V" to get started :)
Do you know the difference between "match" and "game" ?
Guess I don't "Anonymous"
I like big words. But this was actually a little hard to read. Not much strategic content, and lots of sentences that seemed like you were just verbosely vomiting v-words, and not really saying anything.
Congrats on a decent tourney though. I like your articles, and look forward to the next one.
The one flaw I see in your sealed deck is the 7 red cards with 5 of the 7 costing at least two red mana and a 7 red mana source build. 4 of the 5 are worth the committment but the Goblin Bushwacker seems really out of place there.
Vampires Bite and Slaughter Cry are both very acceptable pump and, if your worried about your creature count, then you should be running the Tuktuk Scrappers or Grotag Thrasher as they will probably hit play about the same time as the Goblin would with kicker and have much more relevant abilities. Scrappers I think are especially relevant since everyone will be playing their Pilgrim's Eye's and there are a number of other targets that Worldwake gives you.
Finally, would like to hear why you think you have a bad matchup versus UW after boarding? You would certainly bring in Vampires Bite and the Spidersilk Net and that plus your crazy cards should give you an advantage. But dunno...havent played this set enough.
Lata,
-M
Thanks Metal man...that's the kind of feedback I love. To be honest, I didn't even look at those options...I will from now on! I like both S.Cry and v.BITE - only disagree with the bushwacker, as he turns the tide despite build type. I did bring in the net equipment...just never showed...you gotta admit, turn four Jace is pretty nasty!
"Vagility" is definitely used in the wrong context/meaning, as it has a rather specific biological meaning. I suspect many of the other words are similarly misplaced.
Wiki'ing big words doesn't improve your IQ, nor does forcing poor grammar or context to try to sound smart.
Next time focus on gameplay decisions.
The images that make up so much of the article's content are quite difficult to decipher, too. It's hard enough to identify cards on the screen, so a reduced-size screen-shot is probably not a good way to illustrate a game's finer points.
No offense, but you should get your eyes checked, graveyard is even visible - any bigger and the load time would be horrible and irritating :) With all the Anonymous haters here, I'm sure a HD video screen would STILL get a critique like that
Ouch @ the above post. I thought it was a fun read.
Good sealed deck and decent article though anonymous is right the only definition i found for vagility is this
Vagility-The capacity or tendency of an organism or a species to move about or disperse in a given environment.
Funny how most "anonymous" posts are belligerent.
Some are hard to find, this listing is where I grabbed most:
http://phrontistery.info/v.html
Many a scrabble game I've lost using 'real' words...that arn't in the dictionary. :( Guess my Qi is off...lol
- goblin bushwhacker + 1 mountain. This is no aggro deck and the 18th land helps you with your landfall guys, kicker dudes and high end bombs.
Am I the only one who thinks Feast of Blood with 6 Vampires is a bad plan? Also Blood Seeker seems equally bad. He is a 1/1 with a marginal ability for 2 mana. His synergy with Anowon and Feast of Blood does not increas his value enough to play him IMO. My suggestion would be:
-1 Blood Seeker
-1 Feast of Blood
-1 Bushwhacker
+1 Mountain
+1 Brink of Disaster (Bad removal but you can actually play it)
+1 Tuk Tuk Scrapper (As someone else said, you will almost always have a good target for it, and keeps your creature count up.)
-1 bushwacker +1 mountain for sure. bushwacker is a bit inconsistent and it likes a deck with more red.
-1 feast of blood +1 tuk tuk scrapper probably correct. 6 vampires for feast of blood seems a bit low. and tuk tuk is pretty good as it deals with a lot of good cards and sometimes even killing a pilgrim's eye is already nice.
-1 blood seeker +1 brink of disaster no way! blood seeker doesn't have a marginal ability. it's quite good actually. if you play brink of disaster you'll bring disaster... upon yourself. it's like playing a 4 mana paralyzing grasp on an untapped creature and in a color that doesn't lack removal!